Evening Warmth
by mentalsunflower
Summary: It's a chilly night in Luca, and Rikku meets up with someone that makes her feel warm inside and out. [Gippal x Rikku]


**A/N: **I wrote this because of a three word challenge in a community I'm a part of on LJ, **rippalshippers**. I really liked it, so I posted it up here. The three words were: _moonlight, candle(s), flower(s)._

**Disclaimer: **Square-enix, not mine, etc. etc.

* * *

"Surprise!" he shouted from behind her. She jumped, her heart racing as she spun around to face the man the voice had come from. Groaning, she clenched her teeth together.

"Hullo, Gippal," she greeted him dully. Gippal smirked smugly, taking two steps toward her until he stood at the end of the pier with Rikku.

The two were in Luca, and Rikku had been attending a blitzball game. Now that Tidus was back the Aurochs were one of the best teams again, and Rikku had come to cheer for them (aside from the Al Bhed Psyches).

"What are you doing here?" she asked grouchily. Gippal quirked an eyebrow down at her, his hands clasped together behind his back innocently.

"Standing with you," he replied simply.

"In Luca," Rikku told him, squeezing her fists shut. Honestly, why was it that his every word got on her nerves?

"Ah. Hanging out with Baralai and Nooj."

Rikku snorted. Gippal glanced down at her again. "What?" he asked in an almost hurt tone. Rikku felt a small twinge of guilt.

"Your buddies don't seem like the type to go to blitzball games."

"Well—" He stopped, staring quizzically out at the harbour. "You're right," he said, chuckling. "I made them come."

It was night. The moon, a sliver of what it normally was, hung suspended in the blanket of ink. Stars twinkled in the sky, shining brightly even in the middle of Luca. No boats were sailing as they were all docked, bobbing on the waves and knocking gently into the sides of the port. There were rare cries from seagulls in the air, but even they were quiet at night. Rikku glanced down in the water and saw her reflection. Two seconds later, Gippal's face appeared right beside hers in the water. She flinched.

"What're _you _doing out here?" Gippal asked, grinning. "My turn."

Rikku flushed and kicked a pebble into the water at their reflections. The ripples drowned out their faces and she glanced back up at the sky.

"I dunno," she answered vaguely. "Maybe because I saw _you _sitting across the arena."

Gippal laughed, clapping a hand on Rikku's shoulder; she twitched. "Man, you've got good eyes, then!" he chortled.

"What're you doing, Gippal?" she asked, taking a step backward and looking up at him for the first time. "Why did you follow me out here?"

Gippal hesitated, but then shrugged. "Because I like talking to you?"

Rikku pursed her lips. "Why?"

"Because…" Gippal's eye drifted, and he didn't finish his sentence. They were standing a few feet apart, a gentle breeze blowing stray strands of hair into Rikku's eyes. She watched Gippal closely, but he just sighed and turned to look out at the water again. Rikku rolled her eyes, turning to face the opposite way, toward the city of Luca. Candles were glowing from inside the stores of shops, because no one was comfortable with using electricity yet. The flames flickered and danced through frosted glass, making a dance of their own that Rikku didn't understand. She watched, smiling. For a few moments she even felt at peace.

"I figured out what I was gonna say," Gippal murmured into her ear. Rikku jerked back, but Gippal had rested his chin on her shoulder, bending down so he could be level with her. He smiled right into the corner of her eye, and she looked away, her face tinged with red.

"What?" she mumbled.

"Pretty, isn't it?" he asked quietly. Rikku blinked.

"Huh?"

"The candles. They're dancing," he whispered almost sleepily. Rikku blinked numerous times, trying to erase the feeling his voice sent down her spine. Trying to forget about…

"I meant about before," she whispered back tersely.

"Ooh, you're annoyed," he teased gently, but he didn't take his chin from her shoulder. "I think I like I talking to you…'cause it reminds me of happier times."

Rikku took a step away, forcing Gippal to stand straight again. She glared up at him.

"Do you always have to bring up awkward topics?" she almost shouted.

"Well you asked me!" Gippal snapped back, his face looking annoyed and maybe a little wounded; Rikku realized it was hard to decipher a face with only one eye. "Of course I was gonna tell the truth!"

Silence.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, kicking at a stray stone on the pier. It plopped into the harbour water, vanishing from their sight.

"No, it's fine," Rikku said, sighing heavily and placing a hand to her temples. "I'm just…a little stressed lately." She smiled tiredly at him. "Seeing you always stresses me out."

Gippal smirked at her. "Sorry again."

"It's fine." She didn't know what else to say. She suddenly felt very un-perky and it was a new and weird feeling. Shivering, she rubbed her arms against the sudden cold that had overtaken her body. It always happened around _him._

"Do you remember," he began slowly, taking a step closer to her and gently releasing her hands from clutching her arms and taking them in his own, "when we were younger?" He began to slowly rub the hands, smiling down at her blank expression. "You look cold. I'm warming you up."

Rikku blushed. Gippal being cute always made her feel silly, because she never knew how to answer him. "Yea," she managed to mumble.

"Well, do you remember this one time, when we had snuck out of Home?"  
Rikku giggled. "Which time?"

Gippal took her two hands closer to his mouth and blew on them lightly, and then began rubbing them again. Rikku was certain her face looked like a tomato now.

"The time where we decided to go find our own little spot."

"Oh. That time."

Gippal chuckled. "Yea."

"Why'd you bring that up?" Rikku asked him almost nervously. Gippal shrugged.

"Because…well, last time I went to check on Machine Faction stuff in the desert…"

Rikku's mouth dropped open. "You didn't."

He smiled. "I did."

"Does it look the same?"

"Yup. Still the oasis in the desert."

"Literally and figuratively?"

Gippal smirked down at her. "Well, Princess is using big words now." She frowned up at him, but couldn't get mad because her body really was warming up thanks to his technique.

"Gippal…"

"Well, yea, both. Aaaaaand…" He took his hands away from Rikku's (she felt a plummet of disappointment in her body) and whipped something out of his pocket. Rikku gaped.

It was a tiny flower, maybe the length of Rikku's index finger. Its stem was green and fragile, and velvety leaves poked out from the sides. The top was crowned with a white blossom that seemed to glow in the night's atmosphere. Rikku felt a huge smile taking over her face. "Oh Gippal," she breathed, smiling up at him. "You cheesy old romantic."

Gippal laughed and places the flower between her hands. "From our oasis."

Rikku giggled. "I'm not so stressed out anymore."

"Because we're remembering the good times, Princess," he teased, tweaking her nose.

Rikku could only smile as she twirled the blossom between her fingers. "We were really…" Rikku stopped talking, letting her words drift. They had been really what? As teens, they had definitely run off a lot together. They had definitely held hands, shared kisses, among other things…but what had she been going to say?

"We were really…" She felt her face heating up. "Really in love, weren't we?" She tilted her head down to sniff the fragrance of the flower. The silence from Gippal wasn't encouraging, so Rikku took a peek up at him. He was staring down at her, surprised. She blinked, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Um…"

Suddenly she felt herself being lifted off the ground and enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. She smelled Gippal's scent, still the same as when they had been together when they were younger. She dug her face into his shoulder, feeling the flower she had been holding getting crushed between their bodies as they hugged. But now, it didn't seem so important as her feet dangled off the ground and her arms were wrapped around Gippal's neck. His own arms were held tightly around her waist, and the two just stood like that for the longest time, letting the calming scents and sounds of the ocean take over them.

"We really were, weren't we?" Gippal murmured through Rikku's hair. She smiled into his shoulder.

"Yea."

Another silence, but this one was much more calm, more relaxed. More _right. _

"Hey, Gippal…"

"Yea?"

"This is a much better way of warming me up," she said, her voice muffled.

Gippal only laughed, pulling back his head to look down into her eyes. "I thought so too."


End file.
